THE DAILY BLADE: Honoring Our Veterans, And Those In Active-Duty Service
A new nationwide telephone survey by Rasmussen Reports finds that 81 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the U.S. military; over the past five years, those having a favorable opinion of the U.S. military ranged from 71 percent to 79 percent. Other significant findings:
† Men (87%) have a higher regard for those in the military than women (75%). Republicans and adults not affiliated with either major political party view the military more favorably than Democrats do.
† Just 18% of Americans say they have served in the military, a number that has been roughly the same for several years. Republicans are slightly more likely to have served than Democrats and unaffiliateds. Men are six times as likely to have served in the military as women.
† Thirty-six percent (36%) of adults say they have had close friends or relatives who gave their lives while in military service.
The Rasmussen poll also found that 58 percent of those ages 18 to 29 think Veterans Day is one of the country's most important holidays – the highest of any age group.
As it happens, The Stiletto has direct – albeit anecdotal – evidence that this is true. Recently, she was waiting to board a flight along with a couple of dozen multi-racial, multi-ethnic college students attending a national conference for minority students pursuing degrees in the medical sciences. We were whiling away the time watching commercial jets take off when, seemingly out of nowhere, three fighter jets came screaming down the runway in rapid succession. Each was airborne in the blink of an eye and proceeded to climb into the heavens at an almost 90o angle. The group erupted in cheers. Then, when the next commercial plane lumbered down the runway a few minutes later, one member of the group gave a “boo.” Irrepressible wag that she is, The Stiletto had them all in stitches when she responded, “boring!,” in the manner of “Laugh-In” regular JoAnne Worley.
Oh, and although Rasmussen didn’t determine the criminal history of the folks surveyed, there appears to be honor amongst thieves when it comes to those serving in the military. Walking home from work at 1 a.m., a 21-year-old Milwaukee Army reservist was accosted by a gang of thieves who pulled him into an alley, made him lie face-down on the ground and held a gun to the back of his neck, reports The Associated Press:
Four men took his wallet, $16, keys, his cell phone and even a PowerBar wrapper from his pants pockets, he said.
But the hostile tone quickly changed when one of the robbers, whom the reservist presumed was the leader, saw an Army ID in the wallet. The robber told the others to return the items and they put most of his belongings on the ground next to him, including the wrapper, the reservist said.
"The guy continued to say throughout the situation that he respects what I do and at one point he actually thanked me and he actually apologized," said the reservist, who asked not to be identified Tuesday because the robbers still had his keys.
The reservist, who has yet to be deployed, also said that the leader of the group also paused to give him a fist bump.
Editorial Note: The New York Times blog, “Home Fires” asked readers to “send their recollections and photographs of members of the United States Armed Forces in acknowledgment of Veterans Day.” Click here.
The Stiletto Scoops Another “Obscure Blogger”
In recognition of the superiority of Homo obamus, we should immediately set about putting his visage on Mount Rushmore.
While the granite is being sculpted, every street in the U.S.A. that’s named after another president should be renamed after Obama …
Oh, and while we’re at it all the planets named after gods should also be renamed after Obama. Of course it would be confusing for astronomers since the Earth is the only planet not so named, but it may be the only tribute grand enough to properly honor Homo obamus.
- “The Nobel Peace Prize? Really?,” The Stiletto Blog, October 9, 2009
There is a fallacy in the theory of evolution, often cautioned against, to imagine evolution as one long "march of progress" in which every mutation and selection works, teleologically, to produce the supreme form of being (that would be us). It's a vanity science has no use of.
On the other hand, there is Obama. 100,000 years of human history have unfolded in just this precisely-right way to contrive in his person the Ultimate Man.
- “Obama On Fall Of Berlin Wall,” Ace Of Spades HQ, November 9, 2009
Editorial Note: Here’s the back story explaining the Ace of Spades post. In a “surprise” video address to Germans celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, President Barack Hussein Obama said:
There could be no clearer rebuke of tyranny. There could be no stronger affirmation of freedom. … Few would have foreseen ... that a united Germany would be led by a woman from Brandenburg or that their American ally would be led by a man of African descent. But human destiny is what human beings make of it.
[Hat Tip: OpinionJournal]
The one with the soldier reminds me of the gambit that goes like this: stolen car returned with note of apology and two theater tickets. While couple are at theater, thief burglarizes their house. I sure hope not, but I would change the locks were I him.
And Obama would not trouble himself to go to Berlin so he sends a speech. Demoting Hillary Clinton from the official representative of the US down to a garnish. She's got to have ulcers by now. I look for her resigning her office for righteous cause right about when she announces her candidacy for President.
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